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A calculated path of arrogance, deception, and bigotry!

How the Massachusetts legislature broke every rule to attack the 2A community!

The outline below reflects how the Massachusetts Legislature is operating post-COVID. It is lengthy, but every citizen in the Commonwealth should review to understand how broken the process is.  

June 23, 2022 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides NYSRPA V. Bruen 2022 declared “may issue” (unlawful suitability) firearm licensing unconstitutional.

June 2022 – Speaker Mariano assigns Rep. Mike Day, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to design legislation to avoid complying with the Court’s ruling. 

August 1, 2022 – Speaker Mariano, hides an amendment to validate “may issue” laws into a popular technology bill. It passes.

February 2023 – In tantrum concerning the Bruen decision, Speaker Mariano orders Rep. Day to perform a “top-down” review of the Commonwealth’s gun laws.

March 16, 2023 – GOAL staff has first meeting with Rep. Day and and his staff. Day’s adamantly refused to review the State’s data on increasing gun related crime and suicides.

March 29, 2023 – Representative Day and Senator Cynthia Creem speak at an anti-civil rights event. A glaring conflict of interest. Senator Creem is assigned to conduct a gun law review by the Senate President.

May 3, 2023 – Rep. Day announces “Firearm Safety Listening Tour” consisting of 11 stops around the state. At each stop, Day begins with an anti-civil rights tirade.

May 20, 2023 – Rep. Day posts a picture of himself with anti-civil rights activist, Gabby Giffords on his social media. More evidence he cannot fairly conduct his duties.

June 26, 2023 – Rep. Day releases and files HD.4420,  An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws. A 140 page bill that flies in the face of the Court’s ruling (Bruen).

June 28, 2023 – GOAL releases our analysis of the bill and labels it ‘The Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act”.

June 2023 – Speaker Mariano announces he wants the bill done by July 31^st.

July 24, 2023 – The overwhelming negative response from lawful Massachusetts citizens forced Speaker Mariano to temporarily put the bill on hold.

October 4, 2023 – Rep. Day abandons HD.4420 and files a new, “redrafted” version of his gun control bill. HD.4607, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws. This version is 122 pages long.

October 10, 2023 – The Committee on House Ways and Means holds an illegitimate joint hearing with the House Committee on the Judiciary cutting the Senate out of the process.

• The House leadership uses a sleight of hand maneuver and attaches the gun law language to an existing budget bill (H.4090) already in the House Ways and Means Committee.
• House ways and Means guts the budget bill to only include the gun language and uses it as a vehicle to bring the bill up for a vote with no legitimate committee process.

October 18, 2023 – The House announces yet another new bill number H.4135 and takes up the bill in formal session with very little notice and no hearing.

• House republicans, and some democrats, object to the bill moving as budget bills have special processes that must be followed.
• The majority votes this down on a roll call, the rules are suspended, and the bill moves forward for a vote with another new number - H.4135-2 for further amendments.
• The bill is amended multiple times on the floor,  and is again renumbered as H.4139 and is passed by the House on a roll call vote of 120 to 38.

September 2023 – Senate President Karen Spilka assigns Senator Cynthia Stone Creem to head the working group for the Senate’s own gun control bill.

September 14, 2023 – GOAL meets with Senator Creem to discuss our concerns.

• The Senate’s “process” takes place completely behind closed doors. Most snators don’t even know what is in the bill until a press conference is held.

January 26, 2024 – The Senate releases their version of a gun bill.

• Rather than filing it through the normal process to go through a committee, the actually post it in the form of an amendment to H.4139: S.2572,

February 1, 2024 – The Senate recommends substituting the language for H.4139 and takes up the bill in formal session as H.4135.

• The bill is amended multiple times and again renumbered as S.2584.
• Several senators and spectators are confused about the amendment processes.
• The Senate passed the bill to be engrossed on a roll call vote of 37 to 3.

February 26, 2024 – The new language is sent to the House for their approval.

• The House denied the Senate language without a roll call.
• The House suspended their rules to appoint a conference committee delegation of Rep. Day, Rep. Gonzalez and Rep. McKenna.

February 29, 2024 – The Senate suspended their rules to appoint a conference committee delegation of Sen. Creem, Sen. Lovely, and Sen. Tarr.

(All meetings, negotiations, etc. are conducted in secret. The public is not allowed to attend/listen to deliberations.)

Regardless of your political leanings, the Massachusetts State House is out of control and is costing residents their CIVIL RIGHTS!